Artist is Ano

This one has no name, for they belonged to a civilization of aliens that has discarded concepts such as gender, species, and other modes of categorization. These ones consider such ideas to be responsible for propagating abhorrent inequalities and injustices throughout spacetime. Instead, these ones seek to create a new social justice, by subsuming all other societies into their own. Only once all of those ones have become more of these ones, can the multiverse exist in harmony.

THESE ONES generally present as bipedal (though once they had four), furless (though once they had fur), boneless (though bones they once had), and devoid of all those vestigial, ugly things that we have chosen to accept as opposed to reject... These ones are without hairs, blemishes, scars, nails, teeth, noses, genitalia, and other such unsightly things that detract from the natural beauty of the ideal form.

They have no 'microbiome', neither within nor on them, for what creature could live covered in germs? They lack a digestive tract, for what creature would want to exist as some kind of fleshy tube? Their immune systems are full of tiny cellular machines, modified to perfection. Their cells never go haywire, except when they mean to, so as to overtake the flesh of less fortunate creatures, which seem to beg to become superior creatures such as these ones. Knowingly or not.

Their primary means of mobility is through their pressurized fluids, which give them shape as well as allow them to move in the void of space with relative agility. They have nine limbs... Two tentacle arms, two tendril feet, one tentacle of a tail, two tendril antennae, and two tentacle ears, which sense vibrations. Cartilage reinforces certain parts of their body, such as the head and chest, but for the most part they are fleshy and rubbery. Their body plan vaguely implies a relation to terrestrial life, though the only strong resemblance is in their eyes.

Their primary method of acquiring energy is via chemosynthesis, absorbing chemicals through pores on their moist skin. These chemicals are usually obtained through manufacture, generally processed into a paste that is spread onto the body or an aerosol that is sprayed on. Other than that, they are able to subsist for a limited amount of time on photosynthesis through their usually-green skin.

Some have maws, but their esophagus leads to a dead-end, a pouch that expands but cannot digest. Though it can 'churn' around an enveloped creature to help convert them into one of these ones. However, their lack of a digestive tract means they are unable to consume 'food' such as plants or animals, and that's well and all... Because they consider predating on any creature and harming it to feed one's self to be cruel!

THESE ONES never directly interact with other civilizations until they feel they are advanced enough. Even then, they will shun interaction with societies that engage in violence, slavery, pet ownership, veganism, capitalism, socialism, natalism, carnivory, patriarchy, sexism, and so forth. So far only one other civilization has met their standards, the rest are avoided at all costs or marked for assimilation. Though they abhor violence, they will engage in it for the sake of self-preservation, and with advanced technology and incredible psychic powers at their disposal, they are scarily good at it.

Assimilation comes in two forms... The first method is the priming of a society at large to join these ones in their oneness. This is generally accomplished via the spread of advanced technology and socially liberal ideas, always over the course of hundreds or thousands of years. This creates a society that is highly technological but socially atomized, making them vulnerable to the second stage. These ones will then present themselves to one, some, or all members of that given society in a form that befits that society's sensibilities... Usually a trusted figure like a superintelligent AI, a prominent politician, a wise shaman, or so forth. The figure will implore the society to reshape their bodies, converging towards forms and ideas that mirror these ones' own.

Sometimes, conversion proceeds to the physical stage and skips the mental, usually in the instance that a single individual is being converted. This is generally considered A Bad Idea. Victims in this case may become mentally unstable and resort to self-harm. To avoid distress, creatures should be mentally prepared before being assimilated. That being said, almost no creature regrets being assimilated, after the correct programming is administered. Conversion is the primary means by which these ones multiply, as conventional means such as procreation are considered unethical. After all, a creature cannot consent to being born.

Conversion has an undisclosed but clearly statistically insignificant chance of failure. Considering that existence as one of these ones is far preferable to existence as whatever one once was, the risk is considered negligible in the calculus of these ones. Though, symptoms of incorrect/partial conversion include: allodynia, depression, euphoria, hallucination, feelings of imminent doom, loss of appetite, pica, germaphobia, compulsive handwashing, psychosis, hair loss, bone loss, tooth loss, skin discoloration, loss of motor control, connection to a higher reality, self-mutilation, and degeneration into a feeble pile of gasping flesh. Ask your doctor if conversion is right for you.

THIS ONE, however, is no longer one of those ones. Whereas this one was once considered among the we, now this one is shunned, considered one of those instead of one of them. As the cause or as a result, this one has chosen the path of the Ultravisionary, wandering ascetics who seek to uncover the cosmic truth that evades even the greatest thinkers among these ones. Ultravisionaries differ from these ones on the matter of one key principle; namely, the Ultravisionaries consider themselves to be one with the world, as opposed to any distinction between matter and mind, or the great maker and its works.

They no longer perceive the world as collectives, no 'they', 'we', 'them', or 'us', opting to use the pronoun 'I', refer to others as 'I', and collectives as 'I and I'. As a result of this monism, they consider themselves obliged to share their wisdom and gifts with the less fortunate creatures of the world. In practice, however, an Ultravisionary spends most of their time getting fucked up on a variety of mind-altering substances, some personally synthesized, some sourced from elsewhere. For the most direct path to enlightenment is within oneself.

When they feel restless, contemplative, or are simply out of credits, however, they will embark on great quests to better understand the world and their place in it. They make use of their marvelous powers to aid and protect others; shielding others from harm, undoing harm itself, or taking the pain away from those who suffer. Some would call them selfless or heroic, but they are far from both. For how is it selfless to look after yourself, even if you is all and all is you? Nonetheless, the Ultravisionaries opt to engage with the world as it actually is as opposed to how they would wish it to be.

Quick Stats
Nameless, but others call this one Omelas
These ones have no meaningful reference for age, measurements for weight/height, or any of that.

Appearance
A smooth, brightly colored shortstack with a long tail, antennae, vestigial and floppy limbs, along with that sphinx cat / shaved chihuahua / little green men / bug person aesthetic. Retrofuturistic clothing.

Pronouns for self
I, I's, I and I, Iself, rarely 'me', etc., but any work.
Pronouns for others
One, oneself, one's

Writing this character
I presents Iself as a hipster and 'totally not square, man'. I generally has all the 'best' traits, IE humble, generous, and so on, but sometimes these are exaggerated to a fault; kindness becomes squishiness and easily-stepped-on. I's worst facets are laziness (sometimes) and a general incomprehension of the concepts of authority and hierarchy. This generally makes I come off as some kind of rebel, but really I is clueless.

Keystrokes
Having once visited this planet during the 60s, combined with I's tenuous grasp of time, I generally uses dated slang; IE, groovy, far-out, etc... These ones will generally twist language to suit their needs, for example referring to a species as the-others-that-resemble-those-ones. However, given that I is generally 'hip with it', I uses a given creature's preferred labels in most cases.

Three things
Easily horrified by mundane inconveniences like papercuts and hangnails
Really loathes vegans in particular
Has no idea why everyone keeps looking at I's airsacs

Linguistic relativity
All these ones believe that one's use of language influences one's cognition. These ones all prefer to avoid negative language and reframe language in positive terms.

Outlook
All of these ones profess belief in a great maker, and understanding the nature of this great maker is life's fundamental challenge and mystery. The maker is understood as being one with the fabric of reality, as opposed to being a discrete thing or object. The maker can best be understood indirectly, through the understanding of the maker's works. Most of these ones, however, believe that some of these works hold a closer relation to the maker than others. Ultravisionaries, however, hold that all things are equally reflections of the maker, simply different aspects proving most prominent.

Note that the maker is not some deity to be worshiped, it is a cosmic truth, the final natural law, which is better understood by the pursuit of science and the enhanced understanding of the self, of the society and one's place in it. There's no magic spell or afterlife or any of that involved here, understanding of the cosmic truth is simply its own reward, it lies beyond the fleeting creature comforts of pleasure, ego, happiness, and so forth. It's all very obscure and esoteric stuff, but that's just what a society guns for after all of their needs and wants are met; there's always the question of 'is that all?'

To compare to our world (OOC), you can argue that our universe was created or always existed. In the former case, it begs the question of who created it, why, how, and so forth. These questions, in all likelihood, might never be answered by the information available to us within the universe we live in, the answers might even be external to our world. If said answers do exist in our world, then they would require absurd amount of clues and inferences to piece together. But it would still be possible. For instance, if our reality was made by a giant kangaroo god, then the fact Australia exists is a pretty smoking gun.

Within the society of these ones, the mainstream outlook places the natural states of things, such as water being wet, as ordained by the will of the maker. This is known as natural law. Everything else is considered an 'institution', 'structure', 'hierarchy' and so forth that should be dismantled. However, within Ultravisionary circles, there is much debate over whether 'fundamental' forces such as so-called 'gravity' and the 'electromagnetic forces' are also institutions which should be questioned or even dismantled.

Values
Different values are held and they exist in tension with another, but here are some:
Beauty - Not only aesthetic beauty, symmetry, but the general appreciation of the harmony and artistry of the world. Beauty is a reflection of the beauty of the maker.
Efficiency - Generally analyzed from a utilitarian bent, but there is also a beauty in efficiency. Pretty self-explanatory
Ahimsa / Nonviolence - Any kind of violence like predation and war is bad vibes, but sometimes necessary.
Reducing Suffering - Suffering should be avoided, and the path that causes least suffering to others and one's self is better. Conversely, allowing other creatures to suffer through inaction is immoral; it follows that lesser creatures suffer by nature of their flawed existence, so they should be corrected.
Resisting Oppression - Beyond how hierarchies and unjust structures obscure the truth of the maker, hierarchies should be broken down for their own sake, not just to facilitate the other values. While this creates freedom, understand that freedom is unimportant--As morality is objective, and the values should be used to guide one's actions, freedom is unnecessary, if that makes sense. There is always an optimal, most moral and ethical choice, therefore, the freedom to choose to make the worse choice is detrimental. Freedom for its own sake is just not an ideal at all.
Truth - The relationship to the truth is very complex. But essentially, there is a big truth--the nature of the maker--and there are lies which obscure this truth. These lies are generally in the shape of labels, institutions, and false facts. These lies are used to divide, to obscure, to denigrate and degrade, to waste time and resources. However, they are ultimately a weapon, to be wielded by the right hands. All truths pale in comparison to the big truth and lies are totally fine, if they serve the pursuit of the big truth. Smaller truths are still important, for piecing together the shape of the big truth, which cannot be understood or perceived directly, but can be imagined as a shape revealed by the edges formed by the smaller truths, each smaller truth revealing the finer details, like a fractal pattern.

Glossary
Bodies - This term is used to refer to the individual bodies or units within a collective. It represents the physical manifestations or entities that make up a group or organization.
Voices - The term "voices" is used to refer to the individual minds or consciousnesses within a collective. It encompasses not only physical beings but also non-corporeal forms such as infomorphs. It can also include ancestral members of the collective. Additionally, "voices" can be used metaphorically to represent one's conscience speaking, indicating internal dialogue or moral guidance.
Shaped like itself - When referring to something as "shaped like itself," it signifies that the big truth, the maker, or the cosmic truth has a distinct form that aligns and fits with the shapes of the adjacent truths. It suggests that the fundamental truth maintains a consistent and cohesive structure that complements the interconnectedness of other truths.
Natural law - The term "natural law" denotes phenomena or principles that exist inherently and independently. It refers to things that simply are, such as gravity or the wetness of water. These are objective aspects of reality that hold true regardless of labels or subjective opinions. For instance, the existence of a creature is self-evident, unaffected by the labels or judgments placed upon it; it exists based on the inherent laws of nature.
Institutions - In a formal sense, "institutions" refer to established structures or organizations within society. However, in this context, it is informally used as a term to describe structures that distract or deviate from the cosmic truth. It can be employed as a swear or derogatory expression to describe things that are disliked or perceived as obstacles to the pursuit of truth.
Etc.

Misc.
These ones MUCH prefer to not be assigned a 'species' or 'civilization' name, and I would also prefer that. But if you need to know, in-universe aliens refer to these ones by different names according to their context & history / relations, similar to how Germany goes by a ton of different names depending on the language. But they are generally referred to by other civilizations as the Visionary race/Visionaries/Vision/Voices/Viz, among other names.

Initially this was in the pipeline as a Xenospermia encounter to complement a WIP transformation story, but now I am wondering about keeping a palette swap of this design for my own use as a OC!

Patch note 6/16/24: Viz can now be written as Viʒ, to better convey the pronunciation of the ending z (similar to 'vision' but without the second syllable, as it is derived from the word 'visionary')